HEatwave Race Report

Heatwave and a little more . . .

I have put together a very ambitious race schedule this season. I am addicted. There are many aspects of what I am doing with triathlon that has me so addicted.

My weight loss is the most exciting. Putting on a pair of pants or a shirt which 12 months earlier wouldn’t come close to buttoning or fitting and today has room to move with in it, just makes me smile.

The sport itself and the completion of each race has me focused day in and day out.

But this week has been a new and wonderful experience with triathlon. As many of you know I began triathlon last year. This weekend, June 10th will be the Buster Britton Tri, which last year I also participated in that race.

http://www.team-magic.com/results/05bbov.htm

If you go back in my blog to June 2005 and read the praying mantis blog, this is that same race. I finished that race last year in 3:11:28.

This is where my new found excitement comes. This year I have a goal set to beat myself from last year!! WOO HOO! My goal is not only to beat myself, but take my time from last year and measure my improvement in the sport.

This year my goal is to finish this race in 2:11:28.

THAT’S RIGHT, I want to take a full hour off of my time. I am pumped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wish me luck!

HEATWAVE TRI in Meridian Mississippi.

I will be really matter of fact about this race. The special moment for me in this race was seeing my Uncle there rooting me on. My Uncle, Uncle Bill, is very special to me in my life. He is basically a father to me. In my life he has been much more than an Uncle and I know that with some of the hell I put him through as a child and teenager, I was much more than JUST a nephew to him.

Seeing him there truly was the highlight of this race.

However, I must talk about the race and the director and the volunteers of this event. This is the best event I have participated in thus far in my short time racing.

Let’s talk about the swim. Great water, it was more like 1,000 in stead of 800, but I love to swim.

The 25 mile bike course is amazing. Rolling hills along the reservoir, shade, smooth road. Gatorade at the turn around, I mean awesome.

The run. I never look forward to putting my body through 6.2 miles of ground pounding running, but this course was the bomb! WOW! The first mile was hot, but breezy being by the water. Then the run goes into a trail, paved, that has 70% of it shaded. OH I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!

NOW to the most impressive part.

The volunteers for this race were amazing. There was COLD water at each mile. Not water that they had dipped an hour earlier that was boiling because of the heat, but fresh cold H2O!!!!!

As you may have read in earlier posts, my pet peeve is when I am out on a race course and they the water stations just up and leave, or there is only one person there that doesn’t get up to help you out and just wants to go home.

HEATWAVE, no such issue. There were two of us, myself and a very nice woman, out on the course longer than most. The stations not only stayed open, but ALL of the volunteers waited until we had both passed AND they were full of energy and ready to help in anyway that they could. THANK YOU!!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!

I finished more than 35 minutes faster than I did in the Memphis in May Olympic Tri. I attribute that to, starting earlier, wave starts, and the awesome water stations helping me with the heat and staying hydrated.

If you do triathlons, you should do this race. From top to bottom, swim, bike, run course, volunteers, organization, etc. I don’t think I will find another race better than HEATWAVE.

Thanks for your support. I am doing it!!!!!!!!